Finding Ireland

“In this book of literary tourism, Tillinghast includes essays on Ireland’s major literary figures as well as on contemporary Irish culture. . . . What distinguishes this book is Tillinghast’s blend of tourist information and insightful criticism. Whether planning a trip or just fascinated by Ireland’s rich history and literary contributions, readers will enjoy this book. Recommended for public collections.” —Library Journal

“. . . this book is not about Richard Tillinghast finding himself, but about his helping us to find Ireland. It needs finding because large parts of it seem to have been mislaid, or gone altogether. There is, for instance, the Anglo-Irish tradition. . . . Best of all, are Tillinghast’s chapters on contemporary poets. He has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the top reviewers of poetry in the U.S. . . . Finding Ireland is written for Americans. . . . Yet the book deserves a readership both here and there. It enacts the belief that literature is a form of pleasure, woven out of history and society, and weaving its way into the personal lives of readers anywhere.” —The Irish Times

“Richard Tillinghast is an American poet, critic and resident of County Tipperary; as such his 'intent is to serve the non-Irish reader as a foreign correspondent, reporting back from Galway, Dublin, and other parts of this island.' This position of the 'American blow-in' enables him to provide convincing reappraisals of writers such as Somerville and Ross, and 'that unique and asymmetrical man' George Moore. . . . Tillinghast is instructive on where to find the best 'trad music' venues in Clare and Galway counties . . . has a poet's sensitivity to landscape and history . . . is knowledgeable on architecture. . . . Tillinghast is especially insightful on well-established names such as Derek Mahon and that 'quintessentially circumspect poet,' Dennis O'Driscoll.” —Times Literary Supplement

“In Finding Ireland: A Poet's Exploration of Irish Literature and Culture, Richard Tillinghast explores how he came to be an Irish resident and how Irish culture has affected him as well as the nation's famous literary canon. . . . Finding Ireland is at its best when Tillinghast celebrates the likes of Yeats, as well as contemporary writers such as William Trevor and Brian Friel.” —Irish America Magazine

“Mr. Tillinghast conducts a series of critical investigations into Irish poetry, prose, playwriting and architecture through a miscellany of short pieces. Throughout he combines a convert's zeal for Ireland's finest cultural artifacts with an outsider's fresh perspective—most strikingly arguing that Protestant literature is the critical locus in which to find Ireland itself. . . . Tillinghast is a wonderful writer with great depths of knowledge and powers of analysis. . .” —The Wall Street Journal

"This collection of essays on Ireland by the American poet and critic Richard Tillinghast offers some antidote to many Irish illusions. Finding Ireland contains Tillinghast's personal exploration of Irish literature, and many astute essays of literary criticism. Overall, it's an excellent and refreshing work from the eyes of an outsider looking in." —The Weekly Standard

“Finding Ireland: A Poet's Explorations of Irish Literature and Culture is a book that combines poetry and memoir as Tillinghast describes his adoption of Ireland as his new home after living in the United States for most of his life. A must for anyone who wants to learn about the home of St. Patrick.” —Midwest Book Review

“. . . Richard Tillinghast is an American poet and critic who found Ireland in the 1990s and has been Finding Ireland ever since. . . . On the simplest and most traveler-useful level, the book has chapters with passages about good places to eat, to drink, to hear music, places that should be seen for their beauty or historic importance.” —American Book Review

“Tillinghast presents himself as a foreign literary correspondent for non-Irish readers while for Irish readers he hopes to ‘bring a certain freshness to familiar topics’ . . . what follows is a largely uncritical view of Irish culture and literature delivered with more than a hint of nostalgia for his lost Ireland of the mind.” —Year’s Work in English Studies

“This volume of essays is the result of decades of close observation and careful reading and is first-rate. Tillinghast lays out how the Anglo-Irish, many of them passionate patriots for Ireland, plunged into ruin when the Famine fell since there were no longer any crops or tenants or rents to collect and then into further disaster when the Irish Uprisings, followed by the Civil War threw the country into chaos.” —Tuscaloosa News